“I think it was key showing not just that the officers failed to conduct reasonable reconnaissance or follow the normal procedures for a warrant, but showing what alternatives existed and how that would have made a difference,” said Keith Thomas West of Victims’ Recovery Law Center in Philadelphia.
After several SWAT unit officers entered the wrong apartment and fatally shot the resident’s dog, a federal jury returned a $1 million verdict against the city of Philadelphia, finding the city failed to adequately train its officers on no-knock search warrants, among other policies.
Late last month, a jury returned a verdict ordering the city pay $1 million in damages for the injuries plaintiff Felishatay Alvarado sustained because of the city’s alleged failure to adequately train its officers, after eight officers warrantlessly entered her apartment while attempting to serve a warrant at the wrong address in June 2021.
Alvarado, who said she was held at gunpoint for nearly 30 minutes, claimed the city should be subject to liability for failing to train the officers the “knock and announce” rule, which requires officers to knock and announce themselves before enforcing a search warrant and gives residents an opportunity to surrender.
The case is captioned Alvarado v. City of Philadelphia and was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Alvarado also argued the officers weren’t trained in how to handle dog encounters in a non-lethal manner. One of the officers “blatantly violated a directive of the Philadelphia Police Department pertaining to dog encounters,” by shooting Alvarado’s service animal within seconds of entering her apartment. The officer, who had been a SWAT unit officer for 15 years, allegedly didn’t know the directive existed due to the subpar training, according to a motion filed by the plaintiff.
On Sept. 27, the jury found that the officers violated Alvarado’s Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches. U.S. District Judge John F. Murphy entered a judgment in Alvarado’s favor on Sept. 30, and the city has a pending request for an extension on its post-trial motions.
Offering insight on the verdict in favor of Alvarado, her attorney, Keith Thomas West of Victims’ Recovery Law Center in Philadelphia, shared that while the jury found all the defendants violated Alvarado’s constitutional rights, the jury only awarded damages against the city. He said he presumes this stems from the city’s failure to train and the extreme conduct.
In terms of achieving a successful verdict for their client, West noted that highlighting the other options the officers could have taken to avoid the outcome played a role in obtaining the verdict.
“I think it was key showing not just that the officers failed to conduct reasonable reconnaissance or follow the normal procedures for a warrant, but showing what alternatives existed and how that would have made a difference,” West said.
He also emphasized the stress that his client went through. At trial, the plaintiff relied on the testimonies from a trauma expert Dr. Veronique Valliere;former New Jersey State Police Lt. Glenn Garrels, and Alvarado.
“I suspect that the jury found our expert very credible,” West said of Valliere, noting she has experience testifying to a wide variety of issues, including working prosecutors and military-related cases. “It was good for us to be able to bring in a highly qualified expert with a lot of trauma expertise.”
According to West, Alvarado’s ability to tell her story, and undergo “significant” cross examination, allowed the jury to see in real time the impact that incident had on her.
For attorneys looking to tackle similar sorts of cases, West recommended the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit’s published set of model jury instructions for Section 1983 cases as a good place to get started, as it provides a wide roadmap for the law.
“We were troubled that something like this could happen. This is an enormous tragedy for Miss Alvarado,” West said, stressing that the situation could have been much worse, and the importance of specific procedures being in place when entering a private home.
Adam Ross Zurbriggen of the City of Philadelphia Law Department declined to comment.